Girls sectional tennis: Avon's Ashley DeHaven plays another long match, but ultimately advances

BATH TWP. — If Ashley DeHaven keeps playing marathon matches, the tournament director might just give her the keys to the building so she can lock up. After spending three hours and forty minutes on the court Thursday, DeHaven was once again caught in a marathon semifinal, leading her to be the last one off the court when play concluded at her Division I sectional hosted by the Springside Athletic Club. The Avon junior lost to Strongsville's Mallory Koch 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 in her two-hour semifinal, but rebounded to take third place with a 6-1, 6-3 win against Charlotte Grauel, also of Strongsville. "It really helps with stamina," DeHaven said of her long matches. "I feel like being the last one off the court people are starting to recognize that I can fight for a long time. I think it's really helpful to play these long matches and not give up." DeHaven might be the only district qualifier from Avon, but she will join eight others from Amherst, Avon Lake and Magnificat at the Division I Northeast district tournament, which begins Thursday at the Springside Athletic Club. The tournament will conclude Saturday with the semifinals and placement matches. Last year, DeHaven reached the district tournament as a No. 4 seed in doubles with partner Maddie Heun. The pair lost in the opening round. "It's really, really exciting," DeHaven said. "I love playing singles. I've always wanted to make it to districts in singles. It's different in the sense that I know I completed this all by myself. It's something to be proud of." She got off to a fast start against Koch, going up a break at 4-1 and not giving Koch an inch on her serve in cruising to a 6-2 win. DeHaven didn't double fault in the first set, and Koch never had a break point. That changed dramatically in the second set, as DeHaven double faulted eight times — including a run of five straight over the course of two games — and dropped all four service games. She broke Koch to trail 3-1, Koch won the next three games. While DeHaven opened the third with a break, Koch started finding her rhythm. DeHaven only double faulted twice in the third set, but Koch put the pressure on her service game with some clutch winners. She secured three straight breaks to take a 5-2 lead. DeHaven held to make Koch serve things out, and the Strongsville sophomore did not disappoint. DeHaven rebounded in the third-place match against Grauel, securing three straight breaks to take a 5-1 lead then closed out the opening set. Aside from the one game she lost where she double faulted three times, DeHaven's serving woes were left squarely behind her. She played a clean third set, breaking twice to take a 4-0 lead. While Grauel battled back to take the next two games, including a break at 4-2, DeHaven didn't double fault. She then won eight of the final 10 points to close out the match. "I just went inside and regrouped myself (after the first match)," DeHaven said. "I was really happy with how I played in the first match, so I just went in with a clean slate and focused on technique and staying strong." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.